One alleged gunman in Savannah fair shooting caught, second sought

Savannah-Chatham police Tuesday night captured one of the alleged shooters in the Nov. 3 Coastal Empire Fairground shooting that injured eight people and were continuing to look for the other.

Shawn Hakeem Sibert, 21, was arrested without incident by crime suppression officers on East Gwinnett Street about a week after police publicly identified him and 21-year-old Lajuan Jerome Sloman as the shooters, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.

Warrants charging both men from Savannah’s Tatemville neighborhood with aggravated assault were filed last week.

Police at that time also filed warrants for four other individuals who provided detectives false information that impeded the investigation. Two of those suspects — both of whom were shot during the incident — have been taken into police custody.

Miller said Sibert and Sloman, who live about four blocks from each other on Fluke Avenue and Cordell Street, respectively, opened fire on each other about 10:40 p.m. that night, wounding the eight bystanders.

Sibert was shot six days after that encounter in another multiple-injury shooting behind a lounge at Gwinnett and Paulsen streets, Miller said. He was treated at a local hospital for the gunshot wound and released after that incident.

Georgia Department of Corrections records show Sibert was released in April from Rutledge State Prison in Columbus after his second stint stemming from a 2007 robbery in Chatham County.

Sibert initially served 15 months of a five-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to the robbery. He was paroled in October 2009 but returned to prison in April 2010 to serve the remainder of his original sentence after he pleaded guilty to making false statements.

Sloman remained at large Tuesday evening, and has been described by Police Chief Willie Lovett as “dangerous.”

According to Chatham County Court records, Sloman was sentenced under the First Offenders Act in June 2011 to 18 months in prison, more than five years probation and anger management after an arrest for possession of a controlled substance.

On Monday, police arrested 19-year-old Jeffrey Bashon Crawford and charged him with a felony count of making false statements to police in the wake of the incident in which he was shot.

Another suspect, 28-year-old Diqwane Dreshawn Butler, who was also shot during the incident, was already in police custody on unrelated drug charges.

Meanwhile, police are continuing to search for 19-year-old Ephraim Rashad German, of a Brandle Way address, and 23-year-old Lassale Thacker Jr., of a West 61st Street address.

Both have been charged with making false statements to police; Thacker was also charged with providing a false name to police.

Miller said the investigation is ongoing and police anticipate filing additional charges.

Anyone with information on the case or the location of the suspects is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637).

In the body type, include “CStop2020” plus the tip. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

The Exchange Club of Savannah has contributed $5,000 to boost the available reward money to $7,500.